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    Simi's Cafe

    4.6 (1k reviews)
    ModerateAsian Fusion
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 weeks ago

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    Simi's Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    SIMI'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Simi's Cafe

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    Reviews With Photos - Simi's Cafe

    Vietnamese summer roll (one without pork because I don't eat pork)
    Alexandra S.

    If I could give this place 10 stars, I would. A true hidden gem founded and operated by the friendliest family. Our server was Simi. The restaurant is owned by her parents and named after her! From the moment we sat down, we were greeted by Simi who brought her aunt, Ping, over to explain the drink menu. They came back to check on our table multiple times and made sure to frequently refill our water. The food came out hot and fresh. Highly recommend the fried egg rolls, crab puffs, and beef chow fun. I wish we had more room in our stomachs to try more dishes, but we'll be back soon! One of my friends is a regular at this restaurant and says that the quality is very consistent every time she comes (her favorite dish is the house pan fried noodles, which are best served fresh while eating at the restaurant). As an Asian myself, I say this with love... this wouldn't be a classic hole-in-the-wall Asian restaurant without random items for sale at the front door - think snorkeling masks, a steamer, delicious Kopiko coffee candies (must get!), and banana cream pie baked by one of their employees! While the restaurant wasn't too packed on a Saturday night, many people stopped in to pick up to-go orders. The restaurant was clean and well organized.

    Kung Pao Chicken: authentic & delicious
    Boris D.

    Great food, service, and ambiance! Will definitely come back to try other dishes. The menu looks wonderful with a lot of variety of Asian dishes.

    Tofu Chow Mein
    Lauren M.

    Amazing customer service and delicious food! This was my first time trying this place and it did not disappoint!

    Chicken Pot Stickers
    Monique C.

    Delicious pho!! After a long day by the pool, I was craving some Pho. I did a quick yelp search and this place caught my eye. It's a cute small restaurant with plenty of sitting. The service was quick and very friendly. We started with the chicken potstickers and they were crispy and flavorful. I live in Phoenix and I would definitely travel just to get the pho. The broth was so good!!

    Salt & pepper fish
    Emalyn B.

    A Hidden Gem! If you're a fan of fish & chips, Simi's Salt & Pepper Fish is a must-try--but with a flavorful twist. Instead of the usual fries, you're treated to a generous portion of crispy, golden fish topped with pan fried jalapeños and spring onions, served piping hot alongside a fragrant side of rice. It's satisfying and absolutely delicious. We've ordered takeout a few times and always appreciated Ping's friendly and welcoming service. Yesterday was our first dine-in experience, and it was a pleasure to be served by Diane, the owner, and Carmen--both so warm and attentive, you feel like your favorite auntie is serving you. The vegetables in garlic sauce is another standout--fresh, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. The ambiance is clean, simple, and quiet, making it a great spot to enjoy a relaxed meal with excellent service. Ever since our first bite of Simi's salt & pepper fish, it's become our go-to whenever we crave fish & chips. Next time, we're eyeing the salt & pepper calamari and shrimp--maybe we'll make it a fried seafood platter!

    Lettuce Wraps
    Steven J.

    Okay experience. We were surprised and expected it to be better. Simi's is located in a very run down strip mall, and doesn't have any curb appeal. The interior was cuter and appeared clean. There was even Japanese items being sold. The service was not the most attentive and the food ranged from decent to extremely spicy. We ordered everything mild and everything was super over spiced. The best item was definitely the pork. I don't think we would come back, but we've had worse.

    Sliced Siliced Beef Pho
    Jonathan L.

    Asian fusion to the max, and you need to keep that in mind coming here. Came in on a Saturday evening around 5:30pm - no wait instantly sat. Sitting down, the vibe is so relaxed and calm inside. There were a few other people eating, but I felt very relaxed eating just sitting here. The waitress was easily a highlight of the experience. Walked through the menu but so nice and friendly. Checked in on us and just was really personable and genuine - never felt rushed or anything. We ordered two dishes the Pad Thai and the Sliced Beef Pho. As I mentioned this is Asian fusion which makes sense as their menu sprawls from Pad Thai to Wonton Soup to Pho and then to like General Tso's chicken. The food came out pretty quickly. I ordered the pho so focusing on that more. I would not really call this Pho. The pho broth tastes very heavy sesame oil taste with not too much of the spice taste you usually get in pho (cinnamon, star anise, etc). This broth tasted like wonton soup broth with a hint of pho spices. With that being said, Asian fusion. it's like pho but not pho and surprisingly it was pretty good to me! I felt like the portion was pretty good which I'm glad as it's pretty pricy. However, I finished the whole bowl and drank all the broth. Adding in sriracha and lime and the usual toppings made it some weird pho hybrid noodle dish, and I enjoyed it. Lots of broth and it came out HOT. The pad Thai I had a little bit of but it didn't taste like good pad Thai to me. Missing wok flavor/char taste, and pretty sweet no acidity to it. With that being said pretty decent portion size too. Overall, I would highly recommend trying it for Asian fusion. The dishes in my opinion don't taste authentic but that doesn't mean they don't taste good overall. The pho being very surprising to me. Service and ambiance was 10:10.

    Orange Chicken
    Diana O.

    This place hit the spot! We were at an amazing health clinic right up the street called Unchained Wellness, which is AMAZING AND I 100% RECOMMEND, and I was starving. I am so happy we decided to try Simi's Cafe. The service was so great. I wish I would have gotten their names but the two women that helped us made us feel so welcomed. They were beyond accommodating. Our server helped us get exactly what we were wanting. The food was delicious. We got the chicken lettuce wraps, orange chicken, egg fried rice, pepper corn beef with chow mein and it was delicious. They made great left overs as well. We can't wait to go back and try something new.

    Egg Flower Soup
    Ken R.

    This is like the Cheers Bar of restaurants, the owner/hostess seems to know almost everyone who walks in here. The food was delicious and the portions plentiful. The egg drop soup needed some soy sauce, but the kung pao chicken was very flavorful. It was pretty mild, however. The restaurant has a nice open feel with about 10 tables. This will definitely be somewhere to come back to on a future trip to Gilbert.

    Pho

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    1 year ago

    Great Asian fusion food. Super friendly staff and large portions. The food is really good. You can not go wrong at Simi's.

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    1 year ago

    Great food, very, very small portions. Good to try once but won't go back due to the small portions that won't fill you up.

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    2 years ago

    Ordered delivery. Food was good until my wife found a rubber band in her food... just a little disgusted.

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    2 years ago

    We love this place! Their pho is always on point and the staff are fun and friendly, great service!

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    1 year ago

    Hidden gem! The food is fresh and delicious! The staff is kind and welcoming! The ambiance is lovely, calm and relaxing.

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    1 year ago

    Food is good, prices decent and the staff is very friendly and attentive. A must try if you're looking for good asian food.

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    Page 2 of 26

    Ask the Community - Simi's Cafe

    Do they serve alcohol now?

    Yes. We serve wine, sake and beer

    I heard they stopped the Poke bar. Anyone know if that's going to start up again?

    They said maybe in December and also revamping the menu. The owner said they didn't get much biz from so they may just do limited hours for Poke bar.

    Can you order take outs?

    Yes

    View All 4 Questions

    Clever Koi

    Clever Koi

    4.1
    (714 reviews)
    1.6 mi
    $$

    Very friendly service, cool vibe in this place…read more Started with a round of vodka mojito and a bees knees. Both delicious. Apps were the Chinese long beans which very good and the avocado ragoon. They were crispy and tasty. The inside was a golden yellow which seemed a bit confusing for avocado but it still tasted great. It came with a sweet chill sauce and a pineapple mustard, both of which were great accompaniment. For dinner we split the shaking beef which was amazing. Tender beef. Loved the pickled red onions. We then splurged on the salted caramel gelato.

    Let me start with a little tid bit about Downtown Gilbert. There is nothing really special about it…read moreoutside of the vibe is right. Always a lot of people there so it makes you want to be there. Restaurant wise they have really basic offerings. Places you can find in Mesa, and Tempe, and Scottsdale. Now.... What truly makes Downtown Gilbert special are the small shops that are hidden away from the "main strip". One of those places is Clever Koi. Hidden in the Parking lot space behind Shaq's Chicken spot is a small strip of shops. A book store, smoothie place, and my favorite Clever Koi. Our family has very different tastes when we move from one member to the next. So finding places that we all like gets tricky. Clever Koi makes that easy because we honestly have yet to run into something we don't like. Let's start with our favorite starter. The steamed buns (giggity). The pork belly is hands down phenomenal. An amazing bite that literally makes you want more and more. The lazy fries are just that, again pork belly is included, but that garlic aioli is what drives this dish. The tai salad is obviously classic. The short rib dumplings literally make you close your eyes and just say "Mmmmmm". My middle child is the hardest pallet to please at any restaurant as he only eats certain things, but the Chicken Katsu sandwich here is his second favorite chicken sandwich in all this world. The first time he ate it he spent the whole ride home raving about it. Mind you, we live in San Tan, so not a short ride. The shaking beef is always good. It has this firey kick that brings the heat upfront but does not linger. You cannot forget about the fried rice here. Rice is one of my weaknesses in life second only to pizza. Fried rice ranks right up there with my top favorite ways to eat rice and this ranks right up there with my favorite fried rice places. The main reason we come here is because of the noodles. Ramen, ramen, ramen. When you think of Ramen, I assure you this is what you are thinking of. The broth is oh so savory and reigns in the fresh veggies and proteins to meld them with the noodles for a flavor punch each time you have a mouthful. They have great drinks here as well, or so I've been told by the other adults I come here with. I always just get a sake and Sapporo so... LOL The service is always good here and we somehow always manage to miss the lunch or dinner rush which is awesome. All in all... this is by far my favorite dining spot in downtown Gilbert. Great food, great drinks, great service, great atmosphere, in the middle of a great little square. A must eat for me.

    Photos
    Bar
    Bar
    Pork Belly Bun Korean Hot Chicken Bun Soft Shell Crab Bun
    Pork Belly Bun Korean Hot Chicken Bun Soft Shell Crab Bun
    Ube Colada mocktail

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    Ube Colada mocktail
    Top One Hot Pot & Asian Cuisine

    Top One Hot Pot & Asian Cuisine

    4.2
    (119 reviews)
    5.2 mi

    Looking for authentic hot pot? Look no further!…read more As a California native I am very very picky about my Asian food. I found this place to be a pleasant surprise! The hot pot is flavorful, delicious, and fulfilling. I went home with a second meal because the portions are so good. I also recommend the basil popcorn chicken, they do a really good job of seasoning not on the chicken but the breading as well. Do not skip over this local gem!

    I've been wanting to try this place ever since they opened and I left today a bit disappointed…read more I ordered the wagyu brisket mini-hotpot-for-one and a Thai fried rice. The hotpot was a bit bland and I had to add quite a bit of soy sauce to taste anything as I went with the Szechuan broth. The fishball with roe had a really off putting taste to it either it was old or a different brand used because they are typically quite good. This is the first time where I was unable to eat it due to the flavor and texture. Traditionally hotpot is served with a side of dipping sauce to accommodate with the proteins/veggies. Since there wasn't any, the only option was soy sauce lol... Overall quite bland and pricey for what you get compared to other places. The Thai fried rice was interesting. I wasn't sure what was "Thai" about it because it tasted like a typical fried rice. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It had good flavor compared to the bland hotpot. At the time of my visit it was pretty empty and no one checked on us the entirety of the meal and I had to stand up to try and find a server to check out. Maybe the entryway blocks the view of the servers? Idk. The silverware was also dirty. Asked for a new spoon and there was a small food but stuck on it alongside my plate having some oil on it. I dont see myself coming back here but I do wish them the best. Theres not a lot of asian businesses in East Mesa, especially ones that offer hotpot.

    Photos
    We could not use this table because it was used by staff and their belongings, so they set us next to it.
    We could not use this table because it was used by staff and their belongings, so they set us next to it.
    Hot pot for one
    Hot pot for one
    Mini Hot Pot

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    Mini Hot Pot
    Zu Izakaya

    Zu Izakaya

    4.5
    (1.9k reviews)
    9.9 mi
    $$

    Popped into this place for our last meal before leaving AZ and it did not disappoint! We were the…read morefirst people in. When we walked in it had a very fishy smell, so it kind of made us second guess our choice. But we went for it anyhow. The greeter/server was very pleasant and sat us. It was very clean inside with ample space between seat. We browsed through the menu and started with our usual edamame and pot stickers. The edamame was salted well throughout where a lot of places just put the salt on top only. We ordered a couple varieties of sake which were both good. Out of all of the things we ordered the karange skewer was just a little more oily than were use to, but still good. The spicy salmon roll had really great flavor and the lollipop roll was probably one of the better versions that we have had. The musubi was giant to say the least, it was good, but offered a bit too much rice. Overall the food and service was great and we were very happy that we ended up here!

    Awesome late night spot, for decent quality Japanese eats, and in the Tempe-Scottsdale area. Zu…read moreIzakaya was a solid post-study dinner spot when I was a student, and this time it definitely held up! We were nearby for a show, and decided to stop in on a Wednesday evening for a late dinner with some friends. They have a good happy hour menu, and my friends ordered off there, but I was craving sushi so I got the nigiri omakase. It came with miso soup, which I enjoyed, definitely hard to go wrong there. The sushi itself was decent, nothing crazy, but definitely better than grocery store quality. The tuna and salmon pieces were a little fishy, maybe not the freshest, but it was also quite late (~10pm) so I wasn't expecting too much. Beautifully presented, and the cuts were quite large which was nice! The food came out pretty fast, and the service was pleasant. The restaurant vibes are pretty dark, and moody. The bathroom was kind of scary personally, super dark and a little messy, so I decided to wait till I got home. Overall, a solid experience, and definitely a good choice if I am in the area.

    Photos
    Lots of inside seating options
    Lots of inside seating options
    JJAMBBONG POT
    JJAMBBONG POT
    NIGIRI OMAKASE

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    NIGIRI OMAKASE
    Zu Izakaya - ASU

    Zu Izakaya - ASU

    4.4
    (313 reviews)
    8.5 mi
    $$
    Happy hour specials
    Kitchen open late

    Ordered food for me and my coworkers to our site on a Tuesday night this week. It was absolutely…read moredelicious for one! As has been the case for every Zu Izakaya venue I've been to, but? What made this experience above par, was the fact that even though they forgot to include the Miso soup, they were able to make up for it immediately. No hassle on getting refunded for the missing item, wonderful phone service, and delicious eats~

    The food here was really great. I highly recommend the shishito peppers as an appetizer--they were…read moreone of the highlights of the meal. If you're not a fan of strong flavors, I would recommend asking for lighter seasoning on some dishes and a little extra water in the soups. That balance worked well for our preferences. Unfortunately, the service did not match the quality of the food. During the hour we were there, the restaurant wasn't busy. There were only a couple of tables being served, yet our drinks were never refilled, our table wasn't bused, and our rice never arrived with our hot pot soups even after our server asked if we wanted it. It seemed to be forgotten. What really stood out was that we ended up eating dessert with a table full of dirty dishes still sitting in front of us and empty drinks that had not been refilled. I also noticed that the table next to us appeared to receive much more attentive service. Their drinks were refilled, their dishes were cleared promptly, and staff regularly checked on them to see if they needed anything. In comparison, our table received very little attention. I don't know why there was such a difference in service. It left me wondering whether we were being treated differently, though I can't say for certain. Overall, the food was excellent, but the service was disappointing and significantly affected our experience. (Server was Dhillon T.)

    Photos
    Zu Izakaya - ASU
    Hotpot, Assorted Tempura, Galbi, Oysters, Chicken Skewers
    Hotpot, Assorted Tempura, Galbi, Oysters, Chicken Skewers
    Zu Izakaya - ASU

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    The Brickyard Downtown

    The Brickyard Downtown

    4.5
    (882 reviews)
    6.4 mi
    $$

    I am literally never disappointed with the food here, nor am I disappointed with the service or the…read moredrinks. Music is always on pointe and I would never change the look or ambiance of the place either. My last trip here though I had to ask about why the menu had stopped changing as often since we were one of two parties there in the middle of happy hour and there was a large framed picture of a bartender with a bunch of signed notes on the bottom of it beside me at the bar. It turns out that one of the oldest curators and bartenders of the bar and restaurant had passed from a drunk driving incident and I had not known at all! Gosh I was so disappointed in myself that I had ever complained about not having a new menu to try after that...but at the same time it was amazing to hear so many great anecdotes and to learn so much more about him and the history of the bar itself while dining this time. I had a lot of fun times at this bar - including remembering the first time I met that bartender and sharing that memory with the staff that told me their story. They also shared that they would be coming out with a new menu very soon and some of the new items and ideas that would be rolling out so I am also very excited to go back! New food menu tomorrow too?! What?! I was almost tempted to back today to get more of their amazing dishes from the main menu!! Thank you Cat for the amazing hospitality! I learned so much about Gaea in one afternoon too :D Love it. To update about the food I tried but some of you may not get to try since they're changing it up :P *Tiger Shrimp - DIVINE - JUICY ZUCCHINI STUFFED WITH CURRY THAT MAKES YOUR ENTIRE MOUTH WATER JUST THINKING ABOUT IT ONCE ITS EVER TOUCHED YOUR TONGUE - the prawns are BIGGER THAN YOUR MIDDLE FINGER *Thai Salad - zesty spicy, VERY filling and made in lettuce cups, so very much not your typical salad but very tasty *steak skewers - much more like the juiciest steak I've literally ever had on a skewer - LITERALLY...but not because it's fat, just because they somehow made this steak completely juicified - don't ask me how - ask Cat *Mole Chicken Skewers - My favorite...you should just try it.

    After a really poor experience at an Italian restaurant down the block, we came here to have…read moredessert and cocktails. Loved the atmosphere. Sat at the bar where service was good, drinks were expertly prepared and really enjoyed the dessert! Food looked great as well, I really wish we had eaten here instead of wasting money at the other place.

    Photos
    Cabbage and sausage lasagna
    Cabbage and sausage lasagna
    Mini Bricks
    Mini Bricks
    Bar seating

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    Bar seating

    Simi's Cafe - asianfusion - Updated July 2026

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